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Where do I start?

A buyer persona is not just a description of your ideal customer. You need to have insights into what your buyers think about doing business with you. When you know how to help buyers evaluate your method on their own terms, you build a bond of trust that competitors can’t match.

Ask yourself the 5 W’s when you are developing your buyer personas; who, what, when, where, and why.

1. Who:

Who are your buyers? You may have several different types of buyers, and it is important to distinguish between them, so do your research! Start with your current customer database and decide what makes them unique from each other; depending on your organization, it could be their job title, lifestyle traits, purchase history, etc.

2. What:

What are they trying to accomplish? Dive into your buyer’s behavior in this step. You need insight into your buyers' fears, goals, desires, and frustrations in order to send the right messages. You want to be able to show that you understand your buyer’s needs, and that you have a unique solution just for them. Remember, success comes from personalization. In fact, there is over 4% higher lead generation when using personalized messages compared to generic messages (Mitchell Graphics Study).

3. When:

When are they making buying decisions? This could be seasonal or a specific time of day. For example, if your buyers have an increased need for your product or service in the winter, you’d want to amplify your related communications and postings.

4. Where:

Where are they buying? Does this persona prefer to buy online, in store, or in an app? Segmenting your content offers to fit your customers’ buying patterns further personalizes the experience and thus drives more sales.

5. Why:

Why are they buying? What problems do they have that your company or product can solve? You really have to dig deep into your buyers’ motivations to fully understand their needs. Once you figure out what they are, use this knowledge to develop content that speaks to a buyer persona’s motivations.

 Having trouble answering these questions? Check out our webinar below.